Prima | End of the Week Recap # 9

A recap of content you might’ve missed on the site this week, along with some casual conversation with the Prima Games team.

Morgan Shaver

Published: Dec 4, 2020 08:48 pm

It’s officially December, and it’s also Friday, which means it’s End of the Week recap time. If you’re unfamiliar with our End of the Week recap, it’s essentially an “in case you missed it” feature where we curate articles published to the site during the week.

Prima | End of the Week Recap #9

Festive Features

Holly Jolly Holiday Guides

Eggnog and News

Staff Chat

Lucas

Have you been doing any holiday shopping?

Yep, just for my immediate family though for the most part. Also doin’ a secret santa thing with some friends.

What are some of your favorite gaming items to shop for, either for yourself or others?

I’m really into transmedia adaptations. Gimme novels, comics, movies, whatever based on games and I’ll be stoked. I like to get games for people I know they haven’t played but I think are great. This almost always backfires though.

Are you excited about the upcoming release of Cyberpunk 2077?

Not even a little bit! All my reasons why have little to do with the game itself though, other than having little faith the game will wrestle with its genre in any satisfying way. There’s gonna be a lot of work and a lot of capital-D Discourse for the next several months.

What are your thoughts on the gaming scene in 2021, what would you like to see happen?

I think it’s going to be a great year for JRPG fans, that’s for sure. I’d love to see a Call of Duty or similar type of game that wrestles with America’s political baggage in a way that’s critical and grounded instead of celebrated or whatever Spec Ops: The Line thought it was doing.

Favorite piece on the site this week, and why?

It was a slow week, but I’m really proud of my big Musou guide. Mostly because Koei Tecmo retweeted it and got it some extra activity. That always feels really good!

What games are you planning to play over the weekend?

I’m trying to get to the end of Sega Ages Phantasy Star on the Switch, and beyond that I’m not really sure. Trying to resist the urge to buy Shiren the Wanderer for Switch until I see what Limited Run Games has planned for it.

Are you watching anything interesting (movies, TV) that you’d recommend?

I reccommend a Japanese horror (sorta) movie called Occult. It’s a found footage gimmick about the aftermath of a random stabbing incident, and it gets WEIRD.

Bonus question, what’s your favorite holiday movie?

Not a movie, but the “Christmas, Bloody Christmas” episode of Sam & Max: Freelance Police is the best holiday cartoon ever made.

Jesse

Have you been doing any holiday shopping?

I picked up some gifts for my family, nothing crazy though. I have a friend’s Secret Santa I still have to shop for and I have zero idea where to even start with that lol.

What are some of your favorite gaming items to shop for, either for yourself or others?

I’m a big fan of posters and coffee mugs. I have so many different video game themed coffee mugs I don’t think I have space for more, but I will continue.

Are you excited about the upcoming release of Cyberpunk 2077?

I’m really interested to see how this release shakes out. Lucas and I were talking this morning about how insane the hype levels for this release are and how we’re not really sure what people are expecting from this game.

What are your thoughts on the gaming scene in 2021, what would you like to see happen?

I think we’re heading towards more open and honest conversations about inclusion and how the industry can and should be better at it. I hope to see those conversations and opportunities present themselves. As for games, I hope we start getting some really good first-party stuff for these new consoles.

Favorite piece on the site this week, and why?

I think all of us really put a lot of work into these gift guides. I think as a whole I’m really proud of every one of those guides that went out this week.

What games are you planning to play over the weekend?

Going to put some more time into Immortals and probably a bunch of Fortnite. Gotta get that pancake skin.

Are you watching anything interesting (movies, TV) that you’d recommend?

Well, my roommate and I already watched this week’s Mandalorian episode so maybe it’s time for some Christmas movies.

Bonus question, what’s your favorite holiday movie?

I really enjoy The Santa Clause because it’s such a dumb Christmas movie. Also I consider Into The Spiderverse a Christmas movie so that’s up there too.

Morgan

Have you been doing any holiday shopping?

A lot, mostly for my son who’s a huge Kirby fan. I feel like I’ve looked at every possible piece of Kirby merch I could order online these past few weeks, and it’s been a lot of fun.

What are some of your favorite gaming items to shop for, either for yourself or others?

Outside of the Kirby stuff for my son, I love shopping for unique items for other people as much as I can. For myself, I’ve bought some sweaters and they’re really cozy.

Are you excited about the upcoming release of Cyberpunk 2077?

Eh, yes and no. I’m very curious to see how the game fares as it’s a huge deviation from what they’d been doing with The Witcher series (obviously). The game is incredibly ambitious and it’s been in development for what feels like an eternity, it’s hard to not be curious at this point.

With that said, I’ve been listening to the concerns expressed about the game and the game’s content, and I take those concerns seriously. I feel like there are going to be a lot of disappointed people, both in response to the game’s content, and in response to having their expectations set so high for such a long time that the final product will end up feeling different than what they imagined.

I’m going to throw a Kratos quote in here for fun, but essentially: “Keep your expectations low boy, and you’ll never be disappointed.” I’m trying to keep that quote in mind as we inch closer to the release of Cyberpunk 2077.

What are your thoughts on the gaming scene in 2021, what would you like to see happen?

I think there are going to be some rollover challenges from 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to game development and the industry in general. What I’d like to see happen is the industry, and the world, getting back on the right track in 2021, little by little.

Not just in regards to the pandemic, but in the way we treat people. Stuff like crunch in game development needs to be addressed and rectified.

Favorite piece on the site this week, and why?

I loved the two pieces sent in from freelancers, the piece on Carto (gorgeous indie game by the way), the piece on the PS5’s UX which I found to be really informative, and the MK11 guides.

I also loved the Performance vs. Fidelity piece from Lucas, and Jesse’s coverage of Fortnite Season 5. All amazing stuff!

What games are you planning to play over the weekend?

I’ve been really sick so I don’t know if I’ll be doing too much gaming, but I know I need to put some time into Immortals Fenyx Rising, so I plan to do that.

Are you watching anything interesting (movies, TV) that you’d recommend?

Probably not watching much over the weekend either. If I had to recommend something, it’d be The Cat Returns from Studio Ghibli.

Bonus question, what’s your favorite holiday movie?

Speaking of Studio Ghibli, I was talking to someone about Studio Ghibli and how they feel like holiday movies even though they’re not. They have this sort of magical, heartwarming quality to them. I feel like watching The Cat Returns, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away are all amazing ways to spend the holidays all cozied up on the couch.

Prima Games is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more